'Don't deserve jobs in Karnataka?': PhonePe faces backlash over CEO's comments on job quota bill

PhonePe, the popular Indian digital payments platform, finds itself at the centre of a social media storm in Karnataka. The company's CEO, Sameer Nigam, has drawn the ire of many Kannadigas following his criticism of the state government's proposed job quota bill.

The controversy erupted after Nigam took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice his opposition to the bill, which aims to reserve a larger share of private-sector jobs for locals. "I am 46 years old. Never lived in a state for 15+ years. My father worked in the Indian Navy. Got posted all over the country. His kids don't deserve jobs in Karnataka? I build companies. Have created 25000+ jobs across India! My kids don't deserve jobs in their home city?” he argued.

Nigam's comments ignited a wave of anger among many Kannadigas, who accused him of being "against the interests of Karnataka." Calls to boycott PhonePe quickly gained momentum, with users flooding social media platforms with screenshots of themselves uninstalling the app.

"Hi all Kannadigas, this guy is a Founder and CEO of PhonePe and he is openly against Kannadigas and interests of Karnataka. Please uninstall PhonePe on your mobiles and try to use GooglePay or any other Apps of your choice,” urged one X user, reflecting the sentiment spreading like wildfire online.

Adding fuel to the fire, members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), a pro-Kannada organisation, have threatened protests if the bill isn't passed within weeks. KRV chief TA Narayana Gowda pointed fingers at IT companies, alleging they are pressuring the government to stall the bill's implementation. "On Monday, the cabinet made a decision and cleared the bill. Today it was supposed to be tabled. But a few IT companies pressurised the government that they'll leave Karnataka if they table this bill or these companies could've brought pressure from the 'high command' and stopped Siddaramaiah from going ahead with this,” he claimed.